Insect Management Tools Doug Johnson and Ric Bessin Extension Entomologists University of Kentucky Princeton and Lexington

Before you do anything else Make sure the pest is correctly identified!!

The PAMS Approach Prevention, Avoidance, Monitoring, Suppression IPM

Prevention Keep the pest out of the field! –Legislative; control movement of plant material and soil –Cultural; use pest free seed / transplants –Management; prevent weeds from producing seed –Mechanical; mow European corn borer staging sites in spring.

Avoidance Crop Rotation Planting Date Uniform Planting Maturity groups Nutrient Management Timely Harvest Avoidance of Loss of Value

Monitoring Crop Scouting Damage Assessment Trapping Modeling

Suppression Biological Control Host Plant Resistance Mechanical Chemical

Types of Tools Cultural –Host plant resistance- Early Harvest –Crop rotation –Planting dates Biological –Conservation –Augmentation Pesticidal –Sprays –Plant incorporated pesticides (PIP’s) –Seed treatments

Types of Tools Monitoring tools –Pheromone traps –Bait traps Predictive –Degree day models and forecasting Decision making tools –Thresholds

Hessian Fly Antibiosis is the primary mechanism of resistance mechanism of resistance

Host Plant Resistance Deployment of Resistance will exert selection pressure on the pest population. –Results in multiple biotypes (Hessian fly), “Races” (Nematodes) “strains” Shifts in Population

3 rd year corn, Henderson Co Crop Rotation

3 rd year corn, Henderson Co. 2007

The affect of planting date on aphid populations in Kentucky grown wheat Weeks Post 1st Planting Princeton, KY 1986 Aphids per 3 foot of row

The affect of planting date on exposure of wheat to aphid populations Weeks post 1st planting Princeton, KY 1986 Cumulative aphid days

Planting Dates and Corn Borers 6-Year Average Planting DateNon-Bt Tunneling (in) Yield Diff. (bu) Yield, non-Bt (bu) Early – Mid April 4/5 – 4/ Late April 4/17 – 4/ Early –Mid May 5/6 – 5/ Late May 5/21 – 5/ Early – Mid June 6/5 - 6/

Early Harvest (avoiding harvest losses) Dectes stem borer Southwestern corn borer

Biological Control Conservation –If you don’t spray when you don’t need to then you practice this! e.g. preservation of lady beetles, syrphid flies, parasitoids. Augmentation Importation (Classical) –Asian lady beetle

Natural Control

Insect Diseases

MONSANTO, DOW AGREEMENT PAVES THE WAY FOR INDUSTRY’S FIRST-EVER, EIGHT- GENE STACKED OFFERING IN CORN Stacked product combines Dow AgroSciences’ and Monsanto’s insect-protection and weed control trait technologies; product set to deliver greater performance, value and options for farmers INDIANAPOLIS and ST. LOUIS (Sept. 14, 2007) – Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), have reached a cross-licensing agreement aimed at launching SmartStax™, the industry’s first- ever eight-gene stacked combination in corn. The agreement is expected to create a new competitive standard for stacked-trait offerings and present an expanded growth opportunity for both companies’ seed brands and traits businesses by the end of the decade. Plant Incorporated Pesticides

Bt’s for Corn Pests YieldGard Corn Borer (Cry1Ab) YieldGard Rootworm (Cry3Bb1) YieldGard Plus (Cry1Ab+Cry3Bb1) Herculex (Cry1F) Herculex RW (Cry34Ab1+Cry35Ab1) Herculex Xtra (Cry1F+Cry34Ab1+Cry35Ab1) Agrisure CB (Cry1Ab) Agrisure RW (mCry3A) Agrisure CB/RW (Cry1AB+mCry3A) YieldGard VT RW (Cry3Bb1) YieldGard VT Triple (Cry1Ab + Cry3Bb1)

Insects Controlled by Bt Corn ECBSWCBBCWFAWCRW YieldGard CB YieldGard RW YieldGard Plus Herculex ++ - Herculex RW Herculex Xtra ++ Agrisure CB Agrisure RW Agrisure CB/RW ++ -+

DeKalb 63-74,YieldGard Plus, July 26, 2007: Mike Gray, Univ of IL

HxXTRA Mycogen 2T787, Urbana, IL, July 9, 2007: Mike Gray, Univ. of IL

Resistance Management High-dose refuge strategy –Need 500:1 susceptible to resistant ratio No more than 80% Bt corn –Refuge within ½ mile for CB Bt’s –Refuge immediately adjacent for RW and CB/RW Bt lines

Summary of European Corn Borer Fall Surveys, University of Illinois Extension Kevin Steffey: Univ of IL

Seed Treatments –Thiamethoxam Cruiser Extreme Pak(0.25 mg/kernel) Cruiser Extreme Pak CRW(1.25 mg/kernel) –Clothianidin Poncho 250(0.25 mg/kernel) Poncho 1250(1.25 mg/kernel)

Insects Controlled WWWGFBSCMBCWCRW Gaucho Prescribe Cruiser Ex Pak Cruiser EP CRW Poncho Poncho

Resistance Management Resistance likely to play a larger role in pest management in coming years. Many of the most commonly used pesticide belong to only two chemical groups, pyrethroids and neonicotinyls.

Two most common groups Pyrethroids –Ambush –Asana –Baythroid –Capture –Danitol –Decis –Mustang Max –Pounce –Proaxis –Renounce –Warrior Neonicotinoids –Actara –Admire –Assail –Calypso –Clutch –Cruiser –Gaucho –Platinum –Poncho –Prescribe –Provado –Venom

Differing susceptibility to insecticides in an insect population

Favored by repeated applications in a season Insect with more generations per year adapt more quickly

Is Resistance Appearing? Corn earworm (aka tomato fruitworm, soybean podworm, cotton bollworm) and pyrethroids? Whiteflies – Bemisia tabaci Q biotype found in Kentucky.

Types of Resistance Behavioral resistance Penetration resistance Metabolic resistance ** Alter target-site resistance *

How to Prevent Resistance Do not overuse single control tactics Mix cultural, biological and chemical tactics Use scouting and thresholds

Insecticide Resistance: Rule 1 Do not treat successive generations of a pest with chemicals of the same mode of action (use sequences of products) – Do not tank mix products with same MOA –Know the chemical class / Mode of action (IRAC codes!!) – Know the life cycle of the pest

Resistance Management Tactics Monitor Pests Use Economic Thresholds Use IPM Time sprays correctly Use label rates Get proper coverage Alternate chemical classes Use refuges to preserve susceptible genes Protect beneficial arthropods

Types of Tools Monitoring tools –Pheromone traps –Bait traps Predictive –Degree day models and forecasting Decision making tools –Thresholds

Texas cone trap UK-IPM: IPMPrinceton/Counts/ 2006trapsfp.htm

UK-IPM Pheromone Baited Traps

Abiotic Factors Affecting Insect Growth TEMPERATURE –base temperature - minimum temperature for activity and growth –degree days ((max T + min T)/2) - base temperature –biofix –calendar date Rainfall, humidity

Affects of Temperature The speed of insect development increases as temperature increases until they burn themselves up!

Developing a Day Degree Model BioFix – A place to start the model Daily Max / Min Temperature Summation above the base temperature ((max T + min T)/2) - base temperature 1 Day Degree is equal to one day, at one degree above the base temperature.

Economic Thresholds vs Economic Injury level ET EIL Time or Plant Stage etc. Number Of Pests -Or- Damage Level

Economic Thresholds by Plant Stage ET Plant Stages Defoliation Seedling Vegetative Reproductive Maturity